The College of New Jersey
School of Education
1. Title: Protecting the Earth and Recycling
Names: Brooke Pasiak and Gabriella Velasquez
Grade Level: 2nd
2. Lesson Essential Question(s): What are the benefits of recycling? What are examples of
items that are recyclable and non-recyclable?
3. Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.6
Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide
requested detail or clarification.
Science 5.2.2.1.A
Sort and describe objects based on the materials of which they are made and their physical
properties.
4. Learning Objectives and Assessments:
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to differentiate between
items that are recyclable and non-recyclable.
Assessments
Students will sort through objects, putting
each item in the correctly labeled bin:
recyclable or non-recyclable.
5. Materials: 12 recyclables (milk cartons, soda cans, water bottles, newspaper, cardboard,
etc.) and 10 non-recyclables (food wrappers, plastic bags, bubble wrap, etc.), two bins (one
labeled recyclables and the other non-recyclables), laminated fun facts posters, worksheet for
students to record information about what was recycled and what wasn’t
6. Pre-lesson assignments and/or prior knowledge: Though this will be the first time that
recycling is introduced to the students in a formal classroom context, it’s likely the students
have come into contact with recycling prior to this. It’s likely that the students know what
recyclable objects are, that they are separated from trash items, and/or that recycling helps
our planet. All of these concepts will be expanded on further during the lesson, so as long as
the students have a basic knowledge on what recycling is and that it benefits the planet, they
will have a sufficient amount of prior knowledge to complete the lesson.
7. Lesson Beginning: To hook the students, fun facts on recycling will be presented to the
class. The fun facts will be laminated and colorful, therefore catching the students’ attention,
and the facts themselves will be surprising. For example, one fact is as follows: “It takes 250
gallons of water to grow enough cotton for one t-shirt.” This is a fact that should shock
students and grab their attention. Not only is this lesson beginning fun and exciting, but it
also teaches students more information about recycling and natural resources.
8. Instructional Plan: During the lesson beginning, the fun facts on recycling will be presented
to the students. Once the students have thought about them, they will be temporarily hung on
the white board with magnets for the remainder of the lesson. As students shift from the
lesson beginning to the activity, non-recyclable and recyclable items will be given to each
child. As one teacher distributes those items, a student will be chosen to give pass out an
accompanying worksheet. Before the students begin to sort the items, a mini-poster will be
presented to the class and hung on the board. This poster will tell students how they can
decipher what items are recycled and which aren’t and give examples. This will help assist
students if they need help deciding what bin their item goes in. After the directions are
explained, students will be called up one by one to drop their item into the correct bin.
Students will use a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to indicate if they agree or disagree with
where the student placed the item. If the student placed the item in the wrong bin, a teacher
will step in and guide the student to the correct bin. When every student has placed their item
in the bin, we will discuss why some objects belong in the bins they are in and summarize
where all the items went, writing them on the board for the visual learners.

Differentiation: The majority of the lesson will be taught to the whole class, so students
shouldn’t need much prompting on the beginning and end of the lesson. If a student is
confused, has a question, or needs anything repeated, they could raise their hand for
clarification. The lesson activity could give students some trouble. To differentiate, the
harder items will be given to the above average students (for example, bubble wrap)
while struggling students can have easier items (for example, milk cartons). This will
challenge students at their own appropriate level. If a student needs more help, the
teacher will circulate around the classroom to help individually or they could quietly turn
to someone at his or her table and discuss.

Questions:
 What is recycling?
 Give examples of objects that can be recycled. Give examples of objects that cannot.
 What are some benefits to recycling?
 Did anyone already know these fun facts about recycling?
 Did you learn anything new about recycling from the fun facts?

Why did that item belong in the recycling bin (and vice versa)?

Classroom Management: The students will be working individually, so grouping
doesn’t need to be considered. Students will remain in the groups they sit at throughout
the day, which they work well in. The recyclable and non-recyclable items will be given
out by the teachers, so as to be able to differentiate and control what student receives
what item, and a student helper will hand out the worksheet for the students. Possible
behavior issues that can be encountered would be talking during the activity, since the
students aren’t being actively engaged the entire time. To avoid this, there will be
consistent questioning and an ongoing discussion to keep the students engaged at all
times. If there are behavior/talking issues, then students will first be given a warning, and
then they will be isolated for a few minutes until they can control themselves.

Transitions: The lesson beginning will have the presentation of fun facts and the activity
will begin with the presentation of a mini-poster with helpful tips on how to decide if an
item is recyclable or not. Having the posters link the beginning with the activity will help
with a smoother transition. As one teacher is reading this poster prior to the activity, the
other teacher will pass out the items, leading to another easy transition from directions to
the main activity. The students will engage in the activity until the end of the lesson,
where the discussion will transition from questions about where the specific items go to
what they learned overall from the lesson.
9. Closure: Questioning will be continuous throughout the lesson, however as the activity
comes to a close and the students finish sorting the items, the discussion will transition to
questions about what they learned. Students will also be asked to summarize which items
went in which bins, serving as a final informal assessment to accompany what they learned
through the lesson.